Customer Reviews

THE Survival Guide: Home Remodeling

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book was recommended to me by a construction project manager when I asked about the possiblility of remodeling our home. This book helped my husband and me to figure out what we wanted to do with our home, what was really important to us, and how we should go about accomplishing our remodeling project. It took us from the "dreaming" stage to the "reality" stage. The book has a great questionnaire, with detailed descriptions of the items in question, that my husband and I took separately, then we compared our ideas and desires for our home. This evaluation really cemented our vision, which is helping the design and construction team immensely with our home remodeling project. The book also clearly outlined the remodeling process, with descriptions of projects ranging from DIY to fully contracted, with comparative price lists, possible difficulties with each scenario, and reasonable expectations from hired professionals. The book ends with a fun-to-read case study of an "almost perfect" project, which I found helpful and relatable to our situation. We are now in the midst of our home remodeling project, and I am so happy that I have had this great resource to refer back to and to help me through the details -- and I hope to have an "almost perfect" home remodeling story to tell, too!

I am a realtor and so often my clients ask my advise about what it would take to remodel a home. I just send them home with this great book as homework and they come back to me knowing just the right questions to ask and of whom so that they can make educated decisions. This book is different than any other I've seen in that it takes the reader step by step through the process of a remodel. It can help you decide if a project is just too big for your budget or experience, or reassure you that you can do what you hope you can do. I highly recommend this book to people who are searching for their first home as well as those wanting to decide between selling or remodeling thier current home. Every realtor and contractor I've shown this book to has been impressed.

I purchased this book, based on the reviews I found, here. I liked it so much, I wanted to write a review of my own. I found this one really nasty review, and, honestly, I just don't understand it.

I find the book very helpful. It has walked me through my own remodeling project in a very helpful way. I believe the author truly knows the business, and that the data in the book is accurate. I found the questionaires helpful in defining what I wanted to do, and the quotes very interesting.

This was the best of 5 books I purchased on Amazon to give me an idea of what to expect in a remodeling project and how to approach it. If you've never been through a remodel (like me), this is an excellent guide to help you understand (i) all the different people you'll need to coordinate and what they might charge, (ii) how to approach a budget, and (iii) just how much things really cost. What I really like a lot are the author's detailed, line-by-line cost estimates of various remodeling projects, by square foot. The case studies also prepare you for the emotional upheaval that likely will ensue in such a large endeavor. Buy this book if you want to be prepared! It's a very interesting read, besides.

I have had 2 homes built and am an electrician so I am familiar with construction. I wish I had had this book when I built my houses. It gives such good guidance. It lays out scenarios, discusses the pro and cons of things like doing the work/design your self vs. paying someone, gives good examples to think about.
It has valuable questionaires in the begining which get you to think about what your are really after, what you can afford, etc.
Discusses how to work with contractors and the remodel process. What to expect, what your responsibilties are and what theirs are. It also gives "good, better, best" scenarios and lists of manufacturers which will save a lot of time and help you be realistic. The author clearly has a lot of experience, the book is well written, (with humor too!) and easy to read. I am planning to remodel my bathroom now, and this book is excellent.

Based on years of experience, Ms. Plesset has given the home owner a peek inside the industry. With this book, you can anticipate potential problems, understand how designers and contractors work, and make better decisions for yourself. Read it BEFORE you start your project. Highly recommended!

The price tag is hefty but this remodeling book comes direct from experience: the author offers remodeling seminars to homeowners and her vast knowledge combines with 'homeowner horror stories' to provide money-saving and mistake-avoiding ideas in THE SURVIVAL GUIDE: HOME REMODELING: PLESSET'S PRINCIPLES FOR AN ALMOST-PERFECT PROJECT. Janis Emerson provides black and white line drawings to accompany guidelines, worksheets, and chapters which clearly outline pro and con considerations every step of the away, from selecting a stove to shopping for products and understanding product information specs. Initial design talks, lighting, spouts, fixtures - not one nail is left for speculation

This is an excellent guide to home remodeling. The author has put together a book which is easy to understand and explores the pros and cons of home remodeling as well as how to successfully navigate the stages of home remodeling. The surveys that are included are also very helpful as tools for mapping out how your family will be effected by the home remodeling. The author also did a job of seeding the book with anecdotes of successful and not so successful home remodeling case studies, which illustrated her points and also showed how important it is to pay attention to details. I highly recommend this book if you are going to be remodeling your home.

I am doing a major addition/renovation project on my 1928 colonial. This book has been a godsend in learning what is needed to evaluate contractors, what decisions to make first, and prioritizing your time.

We are doing a major remodeling job on our home and this book has been extremely helpful.. worth every penny!!